Christina Seo
Christina Seo (born February 1, 1959) is an American politician, activist and is the 49th Secretary of the Interior. She is also serving as the 56th governor of New York, and Senator from the Northeast. She was the 36th Governor of California from 1991 to 1995. She served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Pacific's 2nd district from 1989 to 1995. Childhood Christina was born in San Francisco, California, to immigrant parents - a Korean father and a Chinese mother. Following the turmoil of the split of Korea and the loss of the ruling Kuomintang in China, both her parents traveled to the United States to seek more peaceful lives, where they gave birth to Christina. She grew up speaking English at school, and Korean at home, while learning Mandarin as well. She graduated as valedictorian from her high school, and was accepted into Stanford, where she majored in political science with a minor in education. Early Career (1977-1985) Following her graduation, Christina didn't have clear career path in mind. She decided to volunteer for the Peace Corps, for which she trained for 3 months before her 2-year stint as a member. She traveled to rural areas of Korea during her first year, where she helped as a teacher and translator. In her second year, she worked in Africa to help malnourished children. Following the end of her time in the Peace Corps, Seo moved to Honolulu, Hawai'i, where she found a job as a history teacher at a local high school. During this time, she also met her husband, Jonathan Wang, who was the PE teacher at the same school. They married in a private ceremony in 1980. She worked as a teacher for 5 years before both she and her husband left their jobs. Entry Into Politics (1983-1985) After her time as a teacher, Seo and her husband wanted to find something new. Jonathan enrolled at Quantico to train to be an FBI Recruit, and Seo decided to enter into politics. During her time as a history teacher, Christina saw many policies implemented that she had strong opinions about. She began to attend city council meetings to voice her concerns, and through this process, found an appreciation for local government. As her husband passed through Quantico and became an FBI Agent, Seo mounted a campaign to be elected as Mayor of Honolulu. She ran a grassroots campaign, with the message of being an honest candidate who had big plans on how to ensure a safer, greener, and overall better future for the city. Seo beat her opponent 62.7% to 37.3%. Mayor of Honolulu (1985-1989) Seo served one term as Mayor of Honolulu. Her main policy initiatives concerned environmental regulation, implementation of bike lanes, overhaul of the Hawai'i Department of Education, and cleaner tourism. She was also an advocate for increased affordable housing and eviction protections in Honolulu, both of which she sought to find solutions to during her mayoral term unsuccessfully. In 1986, Seo's husband was tragically killed in an FBI sting operation gone wrong in Chicago. Following his death, Seo temporarily delegated her powers and responsibilities to the City Council while she grieved over her husband's death. Shortly after his death, Seo announced that she would not seek re-election and that she would be pulling back from the public eye. U.S. Representative, PA-1 (1989-1995) After taking a few months to recover and come to terms with the death of her husband, Seo returned to politics in 1989 when she succeeded Justin Kim as the Representative for PA-1. Due to her popularity from her period as Mayor of Honolulu, Seo won against the Constitutionalist challenger without serious difficulty. California Governor (1991-1995) Seo was elected to be Governor of California after Adam Smith did not run for re-election. She passed several Executive Orders concerning education and the arts, and served for one term before retiring from the office. New York Governor and Re-Entry into Politics (2001-Present) After Christina's wife, Kushina Uzumaki, succeeded to the Vice Presidency, the New York governorship was left empty. Christina had been living in New York already for many years, taking a break from politics and public life, and helping her kids to grow up and go to school. Seeing this vacancy in the leadership of the state, however, Christina decided to get involved again, and ran, eventually winning the election by a 20 point margin. Marriage to Kushina Uzumaki (June 21st, 1991) After a few months of dating, Governor Kushina Uzumaki proposed to Seo, who happily accepted. They were married on June 21st, 1991 at the Cotton Club, owned by Uzumaki. However, Andrew Bolt was present at the wedding and objected, citing the Bible and saying it was not a true marriage. The situation worsened further when an AAMO protest outside of the Cotton Club turned into armed conflict with the hired Merryweather Security. However, all wedding guests escaped with no casualties. Family Father, Taeil Seo Mother, Yiren Wang-Seo Sister, Valeria Seo (b. 1963) Daughter, Jiwon Seo (b.1980) Son, Mark Seo (b. 1984) Election history U.S. House of Representatives California Gubernatorial New York Gubernatorial Northeast Senate election Category:Representatives Category:Mayors Category:Governor of California